#nemewrites

Which... Are not replacement words to swap for "suddenly" in a sentence. So I'm at a loss. Anyone?

I'm not sure it's good advice, but it's what happened to me.

Since I only have one more month to dedicate to this, I just. Write. Whenever. Whatever. (I've got the epilogue in my PC, and several scenes from the second half of the novel in a 1-1 WhatsApp chat, of all things). And when you're sitting in front of the manuscript, adding to it... just add to it.

Even if it doesn't work. Even if it doesn't fit.

Write.

Worst case scenario, you throw away everything, BUT you'll have a clearer picture of what you need to make it work and what to stray clear of.

And if it works but with heavy editing — it's still good. It's still you doing two passes in one: first draft AND editing. Plus, you're establishing a fixed point to build up from.

It's FRUSTRATING.

Personally spent hours yesterday on two pages, and I'm already reworking them in my mind today but — I can rewrite exactly because I have the clearest possible picture in my mind, thanks to all that toiling yesterday.

I didn't lose much, just a paragraph. But it was a key paragraph I've been reworking for weeks (on and off, when the muse called). It was FINALLY right, but it's lost, and I don't remember a single thing about it.

What if you invest in the love growing through the pages.

The confusion, the tenderness, even the first, shy stirs of a new kind of desire. The curiosity, the feelings taking shape, growing into their name.

You see the complicity, the shared glow.

The teasing, the tension.

...and then—

I'm still halfway through the book, technically, and I don't know if I mentioned it here or not, but:

- reworked half the prologue, marking only the beginning scene as "to do" because it needs some proper pacing

- rewritten chapter 1 entirely. Peter's now more nuanced. His Beloved is less of a gothic ghost, and more the formidable man of ice he's supposed to be

- rewriting chapter 2 with a completely new perspective

- hitching to reach the end of this chapter so I can add the Innuendo Scene ™️ I told you guys about

- found a new shippy scene I can add to soften the road from "let me knife you as a greeting the first time we meet after 200 years" to "slow burning their way into an Epic Love the minstrels will sing of for eternity", but I'm unsure whether to add it or not. Book's already pretty slow paced (on purpose! This is slowburn!) I don't want to tip into "where's the action?" territory right at the start.

- MIGHT have found where to go in chapter 10, after the "I woke up and you were gone 🥺" scene. It still doesn't bridge the whole way to the caves, but it's a step in the right direction

Plus, I now have several spin-offs in my head 😂 Not just the one involving the pseudo BKDK characters I added in as a cute call back and actually took over my brain. (You'd NEVER guess who Ma-chan parents actually ARE in the novel 👀)

And since I'm sick and bedridden, the daydreamed scenes only keep increasing.

...you write the most immersive, atmospheric, and yet concise paragraph of your life. And you, miraculously, are satisfied and even LIKE it.